Pet Peeve: Mustaches

I don't get it.

Why are mustaches everywhere right now? They are tattoos, party themes, coffee mugs, jokes ("I mustache you ask a question..." or something like that), photo props... etc.

Why is that cool? Is it supposed to be ironic-funny because mustaches are so not cool? I must be old.

I only approve of two mustaches:

1. Tom Selleck

2. Ron Swanson

Please, please, please don't get this tattoo, people. Seriously, it will only be funny for a minute - use a sharpie.

Honest Confessions

In this cutesy, handmade, Pinterest world, I think it's time for a little mom/wife/woman honesty.

1. I tried to make peanut fudge with a super simple 2 step recipe and I inexplicably messed it up.

2. I have approximately six piles of clothes scattered around my house that need to be put away.

3. I have never made one thing with those wine corks I've been saving.

4. Only about ten things are hung on the walls of our house after 5 months.

5. On the car ride back from the beach, I let my toddler eat Pirate Booty for lunch.

6. I have not finished my wedding scrapbook and I don't think I ever will. I have recently decided to slap some glue to the rest of the pictures and just get them in there.

7. I throw Tupperware away some times just because I don't want to wash it. Also, spell check just had to tell me I needed to capitalize "Tupperware."

Feel better?

Pet Peeve: Pets as People

Pets are not people; they are animals. That sentence is literally a fact. However, today people seem to looooove to act like animals are people.

1. They dress them up. Yuck.

2. They let them rule their homes and beds and couches, making them smelly and/or hairy.

3. They let them babysit. I am sick and tired of seeing babies posed or napping or in the arms of a big giant dog.

That is an ANIMAL, parents!! An animal who might suddenly get freaked out by a car noise outside or a fleck of dust in the air or who might have a dream that they are chasing a squirrel and in the process could absolutely injure the fragile and precious tiny human being who has been entrusted to your care. I know you think your dog would never do that... but that dog has no understanding of how it could accidentally injure that child. And that is not cute.

4. When I tell something about my child, they say, "Oh, I know just what you mean! My dog/cat/pet always..."

Really? Did you create your pet from your own person, birth him, nurse him, care for his every need hour after hour, day after day, year after year? Do you sit in awe of the amazing miracle that is a pet? Do you teach your pet about life, love and decency? Do you carefully build your pet's character and nurture his self-esteem? Do you quit your job to care for your pet or spend thousands of dollars a month for good daycare? Do you lie awake at night hoping for your pet's future, worrying about his health and safety? Do you constantly analyze what you could be doing better as your pet's caretaker or if you are doing a good enough job?

So, in conclusion, pets are not people. Please tell your friends.

I stand Amazed.

Marvelous: Causing wonder or astonishment, miraculous, supernatural, of the highest or best quality.
Wonderful: awe-inspiring, inexplicable by the laws of nature, far superior to anything seen or will be seen.


I stand amazed in the presence
Of Jesus the Nazarene.
And wonder how He could love me,
A sinner, condemned unclean.

How Marvelous! How Wonderful!
And my song shall ever be...

How Marvelous!How Wonderful!
Is my Savior's love for me!

He took my sin and my sorrow
He made them his very own.
He bore the burden to Calvary
And suffered and died alone.

How Marvelous!How Wonderful!
And my song shall ever be...

How Marvelous!How Wonderful
Is my Savior's love for me!

For me it was in the garden
He prayed, Not my will, but Thine"
He had no tears for His own griefs,
But sweat drops of blood for mine.

How Marvelous!How Wonderful!
And my song shall ever be...

How Marvelous! How Wonderful!
Is my Savior's love for me!

When with the ransomed in Glory
His face I at last shall see!
T'will be my joy through the ages
To sing of His love for me!

Enchanted

There is something so magical about the arrival of fall. The crispness of the air, the cool breeze, the leaves and pumpkins, the colors of nature, the coziness of it all. No other season quite rivals it - sure summer is wonderful with the beach and sun-kissed skin; and the delight of a snowy Christmas (so I hear, I live in Texas); and the life that spring brings. But fall... it's enchanting! It's my season, I guess.

I so vividly remember the first time I was so taken in by autumn. I was around ten; I ran outside to play with kids in my neighborhood. The feel and the smell of the cool breeze mixed with the joys of childhood just about knocked me over right there on our back steps. It's one of those frozen moments in time for me.  

As I get older, it only gets better: coffee, boots, scarves and pumpkin muffins are fun signs of the season. Even more wonderfully, the  two best things in my life have happened in the fall - my engagement to my loving husband and finding out that my Emmet was on his way!

In The Sacred Romance (by Brent Curtis and John Eldridge) they discuss the different ways God romances our hearts throughout our lives:
"Something calls to us through experiences like these and rouses an inconsolable longing deep within our heart, wakening in us a yearning for intimacy, beauty and adventure. This longing is the most powerful part of any human personality. It fuels our search for wholeness, for a sense of being truly alive. However we may describe this deep desire, it is the most important thing about us, our heart of hearts, the passion of our life. And the voice that calls to us in this place is none other than the voice of God."

That is what fall reminds me; God is romancing me. He loves me just as I am... here and now. So every year, he kisses the earth with the magic of fall to say, "Shauna, remember! Remember how much I love you! I made you all this, and it is nothing compared to what I have in store!"

I hope you are enchanted, too.

Good Questions

I didn't write this. I read it and like it and reposted it. That is my only commentary. Also, sorry Mom and Dad, I know you may not agree.

On her radio show, Dr Laura Schlesinger said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22, and cannot be condoned under any circumstance. The following response is an open letter to Dr. Laura, penned by a US resident, which was posted on the Internet. It's funny, as well as informative:

 Dear Dr. Laura: ...

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination .... End of debate. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God's Laws and how to follow them.
1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?
2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?
3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of Menstrual uncleanliness - Lev15: 19-24. The problem is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.
4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?
5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?
6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination, Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this? Are there 'degrees' of abomination?
7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here?
8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?
9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?
10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

 I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I'm confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging. Your adoring fan, James M Kauffman, Ed.D. Professor Emeritus, Dept. Of Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Education University of Virginia (It would be a damn shame if we couldn't own a Canadian).

Literature

I love books, hence tacking on a second major in English with a literature focus just so I could take more lit classes in college. I am a nerd, and I embrace it whole-heartedly. One of my favorite Hemingway quotes is, "All good books have one thing in common - they are truer than if they had really happened."

My Favorite Books (in no particular order) plus a few favorite quotes:

• The Awakening by Kate Chopin (I also love all her short stories)

"The past was nothing to her; offered no lesson which she was willing to heed. The future was a mystery which she never attempted to penetrate. The present alone was significant."

• Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

• My Antonia by Willa Cather

• The Lord of the Flies by William Golding

"However Simon thought of the beast, there rose before his inward sight the picture of a human, at once heroic and sick."

• The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway (also his short stories)

"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut." just a Hemingway quote, not from a novel.

• The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

"'It isn't Narnia, you know,' sobbed Lucy. 'It's you. We shan't meet you there. And how can we live, never meeting you?' 

'But you shall meet me, dear one,' said Aslan... 'But there I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name. This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing my here for a little, you may know me better there.'"

• Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

• The Screwtape Letters also by C.S. Lewis (yeah, I'm a fan :)

• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

"You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you." Ahh, Mr. Darcy, swoon :)

• Suddenly Last Summer by Tennessee Williams

I am certain there are more, but that is all I can think of for now and I'd like to finish this post!
Lava!